


far too much in love (to see)

by adelate



Category: Good Omens (TV), Good Omens - Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Asexual Aziraphale (Good Omens), Footnotes, Friends to Lovers, Linked Footnotes, M/M, Smitten Crowley (Good Omens)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-28
Updated: 2019-07-28
Packaged: 2020-07-23 18:50:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,224
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20013136
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/adelate/pseuds/adelate
Summary: "Do you know, a funny thing happened at work this morning," Aziraphale tells Crowley before taking a bite of azifa and injera and sighing happily under his breath."Oh yeah?" Crowley asks, always willing to listen to Aziraphale's stories. He just likes to hear him talk, no matter the subject.Aziraphale's ears go slightly pink, and Crowley feels a cool creep of dread start in his stomach without really knowing why. Waiting for Aziraphale to finish chewing his food has never taken this long before, Crowley is sure of it."Well, I." Aziraphale clears his throat slightly. "I received a dinner invitation. It's, ah- well, to a. A date. They did specifically say, a date."Ah. The cause of the dread.





	far too much in love (to see)

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't written anything since 2012, but I've seen Good Omens thrice in about the span of a week or two and read most of the book (getting there!) and I just love it all so. much, so here we go. A huge thank you to Rikes for the beta and the incredibly helpful notes, and to Fleur and CJ for reading and supporting this too. ♥
> 
> Comments loved and cherished forever. ♥

On a sunny Monday in London, Crowley makes his way into Aziraphale's library, as he does every day at lunch time. He has a coffee cup in his hand and he’s wearing all black, his ever-present sunglasses, and a pleased grin. He can see Aziraphale through the window, peering at a computer screen through his round glasses, and tries to ignore the insistent happiness spilling in his chest at the sight. 

It's probably just indigestion, he lies to himself.

* * *

"Your boyfriend is here," Anathema intones as she passes Aziraphale at the reference desk[1] and takes his place.

"My dear Anathema, you know it isn't- hello, Crowley." Aziraphale abandons the first half of his sentence and his work station, far too pleased to see Crowley to bother finishing correcting Anathema. 

"Ready?" Crowley asks, and Aziraphale beams at him.

"I thought perhaps Ethiopian today? There's a new place opened just around the corner. Anathema told me all about it and it sounds _delightful_."

"Sounds good to me. Have we had that before? What was that place we went to?"

"No, my dear, that was Moroccan food. I _am_ excited to find out if they have anything in common in addition to the continent they share."

"Oh, right. Well, lead the way, angel." Crowley sets his coffee down on the reference desk next to Aziraphale’s library ID[2], to all the world looking as though he's ridding himself of trash, and follows Aziraphale.

Anathema shakes her head to herself, watching Crowley watch Aziraphale as they leave the library, a small smile playing on her lips as she takes a sip of the coffee.[3]

* * *

For Crowley, the highlight of a meal with Aziraphale is not the food. It's watching Aziraphale eat. Crowley has never seen anyone enjoy a meal like Aziraphale seems to enjoy every single one. He doesn't stop to take a picture for his Instagram; he just gets to it and savors every bite. Crowley is the opposite. If someone invented a pill that contained all the necessary nutrients to survive, Crowley would happily eat those alone.[4]

He knows it might seem odd that they share so many meals with their different ideas about food, but Aziraphale gets good food, and Crowley gets a concert of Aziraphale making all kinds of delighted noises, so really, it's a win/win for all concerned.

"Do you know, a funny thing happened at work this morning," Aziraphale tells Crowley before taking a bite of azifa and injera and sighing happily under his breath.

"Oh yeah?" Crowley asks, always willing to listen to Aziraphale's stories. He just likes to hear him talk, no matter the subject.

Aziraphale's ears go slightly pink, and Crowley feels a cool creep of dread start in his stomach without really knowing why. Waiting for Aziraphale to finish chewing his food has never taken this long before, Crowley is sure of it.

"Well, I." Aziraphale clears his throat slightly. "I received a dinner invitation. It's, ah- well, to a. A date. They did specifically say, a date."

Ah. The cause of the dread.

* * *

Crowley has, in a way, been waiting for this day for years, but in that same kind of way you wait to get hit by a bus. You know it could happen, it sometimes crosses the mind that a bus might in fact hit you one day, but at the same time, you know it’s statistically unlikely, especially if you take care in traffic.

He has lulled himself into a sense of security about Aziraphale. Aziraphale had, during his time in university, come across the concept of asexuality, and told Crowley through some stammering and nerves but also apparent happy relief that he felt it applied to him.[5] Crowley may be quite ridiculously in love with him, but Aziraphale's lack of interest in any of it has meant Crowley will never have to own up to it. All they will ever be is friends, but no one will take Aziraphale away from Crowley, either. 

But as it turns out, Crowley is and quite clearly has been wrong about at least some part of it and possibly all of it, because now Aziraphale has been asked out on a _date_ , and probably by some jackass who actually _reads books_ and _doesn't_ enjoy riling Aziraphale up by saying that the movie was better.[6]

* * *

All of this crashes into Crowley's head in a fraction of a second, before he downs his drink[7] and tries to regain his cool. "Really? I didn't think you went in for that kind of thing."

"Of course I did politely decline, seeing how-" Aziraphale starts to say at the same time and then stops and frowns curiously at Crowley. "Crowley? What do you mean, that kind of thing?"

Crowley is firmly strapped into a rollercoaster of relief and confusion. "Y'know, romance and dates and things. You're asexual. I remember you telling me, it took you two whole minutes at least to get the sentence out."

It's taking Aziraphale quite a long time to get a sentence out now. For a moment it looks as though someone has stopped time; Aziraphale is just _staring_ at Crowley with an expression Crowley can't decipher.

"Crowley," he finally gets out, "What exactly do you think we've been about all this time?"

"...?" Crowley says.

"I- well, perhaps _I've_ misunderstood- I thought we've been- Are these not dates? I know we haven't discussed any terms, or... But I did think-"

"..." Crowley is still having a problem with words.

"I _am_ asexual, yes. But I'm also quite- in fact, I very much- Well, I love you, Crowley. I'm- uh- _in_ love with you, as it happens."

Forget about pink ears. Aziraphale's entire face is flushed now. Crowley can't momentarily hear anything, what with all the blood rushing in his ears. Aziraphale loves him.

Crowley is an idiot. "I'm an idiot."

"Oh, my dear, don't say that. We've just had a bit of a problem with communication, that's all." Aziraphale tries to sound reassuring, but his face is doing that thing where it looks like he's passing quite inconvenient gas. 

Crowley loves Aziraphale so much it hurts. He always thought that was an exaggeration, but his heart is doing an odd constricting thing and he's smiling so big he thinks his cheeks may develop a cramp.[8] "No, angel, I'm an idiot. And I love you. That's correlation, not causation, by the way. We’ve been dating this whole time?"

Aziraphale looks relieved and fond. "Hardly, if one of us didn't know about it." He looks worried again. "About the- asexuality part."

Crowley makes an impatient noise. As if sex or lackthereof would be a deal breaker, here. It’s _Aziraphale_. "We already haven't been having sex all these years, angel. It won't be a problem for me. Promise."

Aziraphale looks cheered. He draws in a deep breath and, as if bracing himself, reaches out and takes Crowley's hand in his.[9]

"Angel?"

"Yes, Crowley?"

"How would you feel about going on a date with me?"

"Lunch tomorrow?" Aziraphale suggests. "We could get crepes."

* * *

Crowley returns Aziraphale to work and leaves with a wider grin and a bit more sway to his hips than usual.

"Good lunch?" Anathema asks Aziraphale.

"My dear Anathema," Aziraphale says, watching Crowley disappear behind the corner.

"Mmmm?"

"It was _wonderful_."

**Author's Note:**

> 1 Aziraphale loved working at the library because it allowed him to help people and be surrounded by books all the time. He had just one small problem with the work: the fact that people did insist on taking the books home. Because of an incident some years prior, which was now talked of only in hushed tones to new hires as a cautionary tale, Aziraphale no longer got assigned to the circulation desk. Incidentally, the library Aziraphale worked at also had the least late book returns in the whole of the UK.[return to text]
> 
> * * *
> 
> 2 Aziraphale’s library ID said A.Z. Fell. Crowley had learned the A stood for Aziraphale some decades ago when they’d first met in their prestigious - if slightly damp - prep school.
> 
> "Aziraphale?" Crowley had said incredulously upon learning this fact. "Aziraphale Fell? Do your parents not like you?"
> 
> "My parents like me very much," Aziraphale had said with total conviction.
> 
> Crowley had made a face that could be loosely interpreted as "huh" and let it go. When he’d later asked about the Z, Aziraphale had refused to answer, despite Crowley's insistence it could hardly be worse than _Aziraphale_.[return to text]
> 
> * * *
> 
> 3 Crowley does this every time he comes in. Anathema got quite cross the first time it happened - there was a trash can _right there_ \- until she realized the coffee was untouched and also her favorite. It still took several cups of coffee and some stealthy questioning of Aziraphale about Crowley before she decided they were probably safe to drink. At this point, she suspected it was some strange bid to win her over, but to what end, she hadn't figured out yet. It would take her some more time to realize it was just Aziraphale's influence rubbing off on Crowley.[return to text]
> 
> * * *
> 
> 4 He had said as much to Aziraphale over dinner once, and Aziraphale had looked at him with such a horrified expression that Crowley had agreed to taste a spoonful of their shared dessert to make up for it.[return to text]
> 
> * * *
> 
> 5 Crowley took this to mean Aziraphale liked people more on the general level than in any romantic sense.[return to text]
> 
> * * *
> 
> 6 It worked without fail, every time.[return to text]
> 
> * * *
> 
> 7 While Crowley may not have cared much about food, he did enjoy his alcohol. However, in this moment, not even the strong tej he'd ordered did the trick.[return to text]
> 
> * * *
> 
> 8 They did, later. It was worth it.[return to text]
> 
> * * *
> 
> 9 At this point Crowley knew this was the best day of his whole life thus far. Maybe that was a little bit of a cheesy thing to have cross your mind, but it wasn't every day a guy got loved in return. It was nice.[return to text]


End file.
